Amazon today announced plans to open a new fulfilment centre in Rugby and begin recruitment for 400 new permanent jobs.
Amazon is increasing the size of its UK fulfilment centre network to meet increasing customer demand, expand selection and enable SMEs selling on Amazon Marketplace to scale their businesses.
“We are delighted to expand our operations in the Midlands where we already have a dedicated workforce of more than 2,500 people at fulfilment centres in Rugeley, Coalville and Daventry,”said Stefano Perego, Amazon’s Director of UK Customer Fulfilment.
“We are thrilled to begin recruitment for 400 new permanent roles in Rugby with competitive wages and comprehensive benefits starting on day one.”
Amazon has started recruiting for a range of new roles for the fulfilment centre, including operations managers, engineers, HR and IT specialists. Recruitment for the Amazon team in Rugby who will pick, pack and ship customer orders will begin in the coming weeks.
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“I was very pleased to learn that such a substantial and well known business such as Amazon had chosen Rugby for their new fulfilment centre and that in time it will provide 400 permanent jobs, and opportunities, for local people,” said Mark Pawey, MP for Rugby.
“The decision demonstrates the ever increasing strength of our thriving local economy and the confidence that business has in our area.”
The pay rate for permanent Amazon employees increases over their first two years of employment, when all employees earn £8.35 an hour and above. All permanent Amazon fulfilment centre employees are given stock grants, which over the last five years were on average equal to £1,000 or more per year per person.
Employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, subsidised meals and an employee discount, which combined are worth more than £700 annually, as well as a company pension plan.
Amazon also offers employees an innovative programme called Career Choice that provides funding for adult education, offering to pre-pay 95% of tuition and associated fees for nationally recognised courses, up to £8,000 over four years.
Rugby will be the fourth Amazon fulfilment centre in the Midlands and joins centres in Coalville and Daventry which opened in 2016 and Rugeley which opened in 2011.
In addition, the first dedicated UK receive centre will open in Coventry in 2018 and act as a central hub to receive and sort millions of products sold on Amazon.co.uk each year. Recruitment for Coventry has begun and will create 1,650 permanent jobs.
Amazon has invested £6.4 billion in the UK since 2010 on its UK-based research and development, head office and fulfilment and logistics infrastructure.
In addition to Rugby, Amazon has announced plans to open three further new fulfilment centres in 2018 in Bristol, Bolton and Coventry.